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Randy Slade
Martha Slade Brandon Slade |job = High school student |path = School Shooter School Bomber Mass Murderer |signature = Forcing victims to look at him in the eye before killing them |mo = Shooting SEMTEX bomb |victims = 13 killed 31+ attempted |status = Deceased |actor = Hudson Thames |appearance = "Painless" }} Randal "Randy" Slade was a narcissistic psychopathic school shooter, school bomber, and mass murderer who perpetrated the October 12, 2001, North Valley High School massacre. He appeared through flashbacks in the Season Seven episode "Painless". Background Slade was a student at North Valley High School, a Boise high school. Though he was an excellent student and varsity wrestler who had many girlfriends and played a lot with his younger brother Brandon, underneath it all, he was a high-functioning, narcissistic psychopath. He spent some time planning his massacre and even made a list of people he specifically targeted together with an outcast named Lewis Ramsey, who provided him with the SEMTEX from his father's construction company; Slade used it to make a bomb. He secretly plotted to kill Ramsey in the massacre as well in order to take full credit for it, by writing at the bottom of the computer-written list the sentence "All the 'L'o'S'''e'R's in this godforsaken school". It was a secret way of naming his own partner on the list of intended victims by capitalizing his initials in "losers". He confided in Brandon, convincing him to hide the list for him and keep it a secret from everyone else. On October 12, 2001, at approximately 12:50 p.m., Slade carried out his massacre after posting his plan online and talking to his mother on his cell phone. He first shot and killed two students with a 9mm handgun, then forced a friend named Jerry Holtz to lock the cafeteria doors to preventing anyone from escaping. Once Holtz did so, Slade walked around the cafeteria, daring hostages to look him in the eye and shooting those who couldn't, killing another two this way. One of the people he dared was a loner named Robert Adams, who managed to look him in the eye and was spared from being shot (due to him being "not even worth a bullet".). Adams was the only hostage who complied with Slade and looked at him in the eye. He pulled out a bomb he carried in his backpack, loudly declared "I am God!", and detonated it, killing himself and another ten students. All the while, Ramsey, who wasn't aware of the entire thing, had been smoking pot in the parking lot, ultimately escaping Slade. In the aftermath of the massacre, Rossi and Hotch became involved in the investigation. Slade's immediate family essentially became nationwide pariahs after what he did. Slade's father Harry apparently couldn't stand the negative attention and left the family five years later. However, Slade's mother Martha and brother Brandon didn't move away from the area, presumably because they would be recognized anywhere due to the media coverage on them. Brandon even came to attend North Valley High and did well, but it can be suggested that he was somewhat unpopular due to his brother's actions. During the investigation, authorities noted the fact that Slade used SEMTEX, an explosive used at construction sites held behind locked doors. This led the BAU to consider the possibility that Slade had a partner, though they never found him. People have also questioned why Slade detonated his bomb early after firing only four shots, when he clearly still had ammunition left; the reason behind this early suicide attack still remains unanswered. Painless Finally, the BAU manage to find Ramsey after ten years, near the anniversary of the massacre. After the case's conclusion, a memorial for the victims of Slade's massacre is held in front of North Valley High. When everyone starts lighting candles and saying the names of the people they want to remember, Brandon says his brother's name. Profile ''"I...am...GOD!" Slade was a high-functioning yet impulsive, narcissistic psychopath, unlike the majority of school shooters. He was popular and highly intelligent. For this reason, he neglected to name his partner in his plans, taking the credit for himself. He was also possibly delusional, because at the beginning of the shooting and when he detonated his bomb, he ranted and screamed, "I am God!" He also taunted students, asking if they were "brave enough" to look him in the eye. He shot students who didn't look him in the eye and spared one who did. His pathology was about the big kill, murdering as many people as he could, despite the fact that Slade only shot four students even though he had plenty more ammunition to shoot and kill many additional victims. Slade relished the power of choosing who lived and died, hence his feeling of being God. He shot Natalie Gallo to get everyone's attention, then shot the next student in order to establish dominance. Modus Operandi Slade arrived at the North Valley High School cafeteria armed with a 9mm handgun (possibly a Beretta M9) and a SEMTEX bomb hidden in his backpack. After shooting two students to catch the attention of everyone else in the cafeteria and then to assert his dominance, he would dare students to look him in the eye, declaring himself to be God, and then shot two of them execution-style after when they wouldn't do so. Then, he detonated his SEMTEX bomb using his cellphone. Reid mentioned that Slade used nails for bomb shrapnel as a sadistic touch. Real-Life Comparisons Slade is similar to Andrew Kehoe, the perpetrator of the 1927 Bath School massacre - Both were school bombers who killed more than a dozen people before ending their own lives with their bombs. Their bombings had media-given nicknames and spread lots of infamy that lasted for years after the attack. He is also similar to Kipland Kinkel - Both were schools shooters and (attempted in Kinkel's case) bombers who attacked the school they attended, attacked all their victims in the school cafeteria, injured dozens, and utilized both firearms and explosives in the assault. Both Slade and Ramsey appear to have been mostly based on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, perpetrators of the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School massacre - All were school shooters, bombers, and mass murderers (only Ramsey wasn't a killer) who attacked the High School they attended, used both firearms and explosives, both Slade and Harris were diagnosed as psychopaths, attacked the cafeteria, both committed suicide and took ten lives in the process in the last and deadliest part of their massacres, they left dozens injured, both were narcissistic and referred to themselves as "gods", taunted their victims in some way, had brothers, and both inspired copycats who attempted to replicate their massacres. He also may have been based on Pekka-Eric Auvinen - Both were school shooters and mass murderers who targeted the high school they attended, shot their victims with a pistol and had one other weapon (a SEMTEX bomb in Slade's case, while Auvinen attempted to set a fire), had some sort of superiority complex as a motive (Slade believed himself "God", while Auvinen believed in "natural selection"), posted their plans online, spared at least one victim, left messages for their families, and committed suicide after their massacre. Known Victims **An unnamed victim **Brad Smith **Allison Humwald *The SEMTEX bomb victims: **Jay O'Brien **Steve Tossell **Tucker Cranwell **Janine Bergen **Six unnamed other victims *Note: It was stated that Randy shot three students, but a flashback sequence depicts him opening fire on four. However, it is possible that one of the victims that was shot survived, or that student survived being shot but was killed by the bomb blast. Injuries *The SEMTEX bomb victims: **Robert Adams **Jerry Holtz **Five unnamed victims **Dozens of unnamed other victims Other All of the following were named on Slade's list, though were not specified to be deceased or injured from the massacre. *Lewis Ramsey *Principal Doug Givens *Susie Raab *Carl Belhaven *Chelsea Grant *Peggy Vargas *Carl Adelson *Chris Whitberg *James BraiserHis name is identical to that of another victim. It is unknown if this is a coincidence. *Miles Gillian *William Coldridge *Eli Maltin *Miles Haliman *Donald Jackson *James BraiserThe "second" James Braiser. *Tiffany Gleason *Khiara Preels *Steve Bronson *Steven Zelaski *Caleb Brown *Leonard Wallach *Charles McQueen *Scott Kennerman *Rosemary Fairburn *Adam Albring }} Appearances *Season Seven **"Painless" References Category:Criminal Minds Characters Category:Suicide Bombers Category:Criminals Category:Season Seven Criminals Category:Psychopaths Category:Underaged Killers Category:Mass Murderers Category:School Shooters Category:Bombers Category:Deceased Criminals Category:Suicides Category:Narcissists Category:Sadists Category:Hostage Takers